Estranged Wife Of Chris Cardona’s Aide Asked Court For His Geolocation Data To Prove He Was At German Brothel
Joe Gerada (right) with Economy Minister Chris Cardona
The former wife of an aide to Economy Minister Chris Cardona had asked a court to preserve his geolocation mobile data for the dates when it was alleged he had a visited a German brothel with the minister.
Joe Gerada’s lawyer Pawlu Lia said in court yesterday that the infamous brothel story, which now-murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia had written about back in January 2017, had caused his client immense harm, including the breakdown of his marriage.
And a court application filed by Gerada’s wife a few months after that story was published shows she had indeed used the accusation as part of separation proceedings. In fact, she had requested the court to order Gerada’s mobile telephony provider to preserve his geolocation data for the period he was in Germany.
“As these dates are being kept by the telephone company for a limited period, it is necessary that this court orders that they be kept in order that they be available if and when the hearing of the cause is held,” the application, which was published in the Government Gazette, reads.
However, the court ended up shooting down her application.
Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son Paul referred to Gerada’s wife’s request last year
In January 2017, Caruana Galizia wrote that Cardona and Gerada had a threesome with a prostitute at the FKK Acapulco nightclub in Velbert during a state visit to Germany. The blog included copious details, including quotes attributed to the minister.
Cardona and Gerada vehemently denied this story, suing Caruana Galizia for libel and issuing a precautionary warrant against her pending the outcome of the case, a draconian move that prompted the government to pass legislation to forbid such further action against journalists.
Caruana Galizia responded by demanding the court obtain the mobile phone geolocation data for the dates they were supposed to be at the FKK Acapulco, but Cardona and Gerada refuted this on the grounds that Caruana Galizia should provide proof herself to back up her story.
The FKK Acapulco in Velbert, Germany
Caruana Galizia was killed before the conclusion of the case, and Cardona and Gerada eventually dropped their lawsuits without awaiting the publication of the geolocation data.
However, Caruana Galizia’s widower Peter and her sons Matthew, Andrew and Paul have now sued both Cardona and Gerada on the grounds that the law prohibits the filing of malicious, frivolous and vexatious precautionary warrants.
According to the Caruana Galizias, the fact that Cardona and Gerada withdrew the libels and precautionary warrants before the court had the opportunity to choose whether to present their mobile phone geolocation data as evidence shows that they had opened the cases maliciously, frivolously and vexatiously.
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